Startups News

18 Apr 2024, 16:26

Move over Bollywood, audio shows are starting to enter the coveted ‘100 Crores Club’

It has been a tough few years for India’s flagship entertainment industry, Bollywood! Very few movies have managed to break the shackles and amass hundreds of crores, while many films involving the largest stars have performed below expectations. During such a bleak period for the entertainment industry, an underdog content format has started to get attention — audio shows.

12 Apr 2024, 16:41

Ashneer Grover set to launch app for medical loans 'ZeroPe'

BharatPe co-founder and former MD Ashneer Grover is set to launch a new app called 'ZeroPe' that will provide loans for healthcare. According to the apps' Google Play Store listing, ZeroPe is presently in the testing phase and has been developed by Third Unicorn, which was founded by Grover after his exit from BharatPe.

10 Apr 2024, 17:19

Cornerstone Ventures launches second fund with $200 million target for investment in emerging B2B enterprise technology opportunities

Cornerstone Ventures, a venture capital firm focusing on B2B Enterprise technology investments, has launched its second fund, with a target size of $200 million. It will include a green-shoe option which permits underwriters to sell additional shares beyond the original offering size, providing flexibility to meet investor demand. The fund seeks to generate substantial value for entrepreneurs, extending beyond mere capital infusion. It offers access to an extensive enterprise customer network, strategic funding from subsequent round investors, and a vast array of mentors and go-to-market collaborators.

24 Jan 2024, 16:17

Fintech unicorn InCred reports 132% growth in profit in Q3 FY24

Fintech unicorn InCred on Wednesday reported 132 per cent growth in profit before tax to Rs 298 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal year (FY24), from Rs 129 crore in the corresponding period last year.

23 Jan 2024, 18:17

Global VC investments sink in 2023, India still a bright spot: KPMG

Global VC investment sank to $344 billion across 37,808 deals in 2023 from $531.4 billion across 51,894 deals in 2022 amid geopolitical, macro-economic and other challenges like high interest rates and inflation, a parched exit environment, and ongoing concerns related to startup valuations.

23 Jan 2024, 18:04

IPO-bound Swiggy likely to raise platform fee from ₹5 to ₹10 says media report

Online food delivery platform Swiggy is expected to double the platform fee on food orders from Rs 5 to Rs 10 in the coming month, a media report said on Tuesday. With this move, the company looks to reduce losses ahead of the launch of its IPO (initial public offering), which will take later this year, reports Moneycontrol.

19 Jan 2024, 17:28

Paytm records revenue growth of 38% YoY in Q3FY24

Paytm has announced its October-December quarter earnings showing a strong growth momentum led by higher subscription revenue, improvement in margin and payments business revenue.

16 Jan 2024, 15:48

Wow! Momo raises Rs 410 cr in latest round led by Khazanah, OAKS

Quick service restaurant (QSR) chain, Wow! Momo, said on Tuesday that it has raised Rs 410 crore (around $49 million) in its Series D round led by Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia, and OAKS Asset Management. Khazanah led the round by investing Rs 350 crore, while existing investor OAKS invested the remaining Rs 60 crore, according to the company. Wow! Momo said that the funding will be used to grow and expand the QSR brand. It will also invest in distribution, research and development (R&D).

10 Jan 2024, 10:19

Paytm to invest ₹100 cr in GIFT City, to offer AI-driven cross border remittance

One97 Communications Limited (OCL) that owns India's leading payments and financial services company Paytm, on Wednesday announced an investment of Rs 100 crore in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) to build a global financial ecosystem, ahead of the 'Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024'.

04 Jan 2024, 13:23

India’s fintech funding shrinks over 60% to $2 billion

In spite of the fall, India ranked third globally in 2023 in terms of fintech startup funding. Worldover, funds have become tight for startups due to rising interest rates, as well as tough and uncertain macroeconomic conditions. Even as funding was scarce, sectors within fintech like alternative lending, payments, and bankingtech saw a good run. Alternative Lending received funding of $835 million in 2023, down from $2.28bn in 2022.

02 Jan 2024, 17:10

Startups in 2024: Innovation can't override a profitable bottom line

In 1999, amidst the dot-com frenzy, Warren Buffett's prophetic words at the Allen-Sunny Valley Conference foresaw the bubble's burst. I witnessed this, my first tech bubble-bust, firsthand as a 16-year-old trader in my dad’s office. At that time, companies, merely by donning a “tech” or “soft” label, saw their valuations soar. This pattern, a rollercoaster of tech stock highs and lows, has been a recurring theme in the two-plus decades since and is especially pronounced in India.

02 Jan 2024, 15:02

Flipkart's Binny Bansal launches startup that helps e-commerce companies go global

Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal has come up with a new venture - 'OppDoor', which will help e-commerce companies expand operations globally by providing them with end-to-end solutions, a media report said on Tuesday. According to the filings, the company is registered in Singapore and was founded in May 2021. OppDoor was previously known as Three State Ventures Pte Ltd, reports Moneycontrol.

29 Dec 2023, 14:51

Meesho posts first-ever quarterly profits in FY24, claims to be the first profitable e-commerce unicorn in Q2

Softbank-backed Meesho on Friday said it became the first e-commerce unicorn to post consolidated profit after tax in the second quarter ended September 2023. The company did not disclose the amount of profit it earned in the July-September period. During the first-half period of the current financial year, the company reported narrowing of losses to Rs 141 crore and an increase in revenue by 37 per cent on a year-over-year basis to Rs 3,521 crore.

26 Dec 2023, 17:03

SCOPE launches $45 million venture capital fund for fintech, gaming sectors

SCOPE, an invite-only networking platform for the startup ecosystem, on Tuesday announced the launch of a USD 45 million venture capital fund focused on driving innovation in the fast-evolving fintech and gaming sectors. This strategic initiative underlines SCOPE's commitment to fostering innovation, collaboration, and growth within the startup community, according to a release.

22 Dec 2023, 14:51

2023: The year that startups started to grow up

The year of 2023 was tough for many startups which had to survive without the VC funding bottle. Unicorns like Byju’s, Swiggy and Ola saw valuation markdowns, few others shut shop. Founders shifted focus to profitability and 18% of them said they’re profitable in a survey. Half of India’s 100 unicorns could turn profitable by FY27, predicts Redseer.

19 Dec 2023, 14:31

ONDC, Meta kick-off partnership to support small businesses in India

ONDC and Meta on Tuesday partnered to enable small businesses in India build seamless conversational buyer and seller experiences on WhatsApp through an ecosystem of Meta's business and technical solution providers. Meanwhile, ONDC will help these business solution providers become seller apps, bringing the businesses they service onto the ONDC Network and helping them drive commerce.

18 Dec 2023, 12:44

Udaan lays off 100 employees a week after raising $340 million

Homegrown B2B e-commerce platform Udaan, which raised $340 million last week, laid off more than 100 employees as part of a restructuring exercise.A company spokesperson said that they have made significant progress in their journey towards building a profitable business and “continue to make relevant interventions to our already proven business model, while remaining customer centric and agile”.

14 Dec 2023, 16:42

Energy-tech start-up Exponent Energy secures $26 million in a series B funding

Exponent Energy, an innovative energy-tech startup working at 15-minute fast charging and introducing a 3000-cycle life warranty for electric vehicles, has secured $26.4 million in a series B funding round led by Eight Roads Ventures.This round includes a strategic investment from TDK Ventures, their first foray into India’s EV sector. Existing investors such as Lightspeed, YourNest VC, 3one4 Capital, AdvantEdge VC, and Dr. Pawan Munjal's family office, Executive Chairman of Hero MotoCorp, also participated in this round.

14 Dec 2023, 15:29

Udaan raises $340 mn with eye on listing in 12-18 months

India’s largest eB2B platform Udaan said on Thursday that it has raised $340 million in Series E financing. The funding round was led by M&G Pls. Existing equity investors like Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global participated in the round. The fund raise is subject to regulatory approvals.

14 Dec 2023, 10:46

TiE Silicon Valley to help Indian startups grow their markets in the US

TiE Silicon Valley, the gateway for global entrepreneurs in the United States, is now working to train, mentor and facilitate Indian startups to grow their markets in the US, the head of this top organisation for entrepreneurs from the IS sector has said."We see ourselves; TiE Silicon Valley is the gateway for the global entrepreneur. A bulk of those global entrepreneurs are coming from India," Anita Manwani, president of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Silicon Valley told PTI in a recent interview.

12 Dec 2023, 07:00

Startups with small profit pools should think twice before launching their IPOs

There’s a new word that has entered the lexicon of startups – profitability. During the pandemic, when money was literally available on tap, startups found newer ways to burn the cash. Now that the bubble has burst and even the most celebrated decacorn has fallen from grace, founders are now learning the meaning of ‘profitable’ growth. Many startups are now announcing that they are profitable, even if the pool of profit continues to be very small. From being a fad, profitability is no longer optional as many startups are looking to tap public markets.

11 Dec 2023, 17:10

Online furniture brand Pepperfry registers Rs 188 cr losses in FY23

Online furniture brand Pepperfry registered Rs 188 crore in losses in FY23, down just 3 per cent from Rs 194 crore losses in FY22.Online furniture brand Pepperfry registered Rs 188 crore in losses in FY23, down just 3 per cent from Rs 194 crore losses in FY22. Pepperfry has been witnessing slow growth in the last few fiscal years.

02 Dec 2023, 08:16

The sure shot ‘signs’ of a successful entrepreneur

It takes a lot of creativity, courage and determination to start and build a successful business. In this digital era, it helps if you are an engineer too. As per Hurun and IDFC First’s list of top 200 companies founded by 405 self-made entrepreneurs, 225 are engineers. Needless to say, the list is also dominated by startups and new-age businesses. The odds get better if you are from a marquee college like IIT, as 82 of them from the list are either from IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay or IIT Kharagpur.

01 Dec 2023, 14:09

From hospitality to financial services – Top 10 industries for new startups in India

India’s burgeoning startup ecosystem is highly dynamic. However, some industries have a distinguished standing as fertile gr...

01 Dec 2023, 13:08

Private equity and VC players make a killing as IPO rush yields them ₹10,000 crore

The great rush for initial public offerings (IPOs) has landed a bounty of massive proportions for entrepreneurs and investors alike. And a fourth of all the funds raised, and almost half of all the offer-for-sale capital landed in the coffers of private equity and venture capital firms. This is in addition to the large block deal action seen between August and September, especially in new-age companies.